plant stemless, flowering 60–100 cm high, rosette 60 cm in diameter. leaves many in a spreading, funnelform rosette, to 50 cm long, densely and finely appressed-lepidote throughout; sheath distinct, broadly elliptic, to 11 cm long and 6 cm wide, light brown, finely brown punctulate lepidote on both sides; blade narrowly triangular, caudate-attenuate, 3 cm wide at base, to 40 cm long, spreading or recurved, green-grey. inflorescence: peduncle stout, erect, short; peduncle bracts foliaceous, few, densely imbricate, concealing the peduncle, the blades recurved; fertile part thyrsoid, at least 40 cm long, 15–20 cm in diameter, once-branched to subtwice-branched (the lower ones occasionally with a second, smaller lateral spike), compound of 15 or more spikes, inflorescence internodes 2–4 cm long; primary bracts with an ovate sheath much shorter than the axillary spike and a narrow, foliaceous, recurved blade exceeding the lower spikes, the upper ones shorter and merely apiculate; spikes to 20 cm long, 2–2.5 cm wide, narrowly oblong, dorsoventrally compressed, the flat side directed toward the axis, ascending from 45 to 60 degrees, to 5 cm stipitate, with several sterile bracts at the base, spike internodes 1–2 cm; floral bracts erect, densely imbricate, at anthesis rachis not or only slightly visible, rose or green with rose, 3–3.7 cm long, flattened to 1.7 cm wide, exceeding the sepals, ovate, broadly acute, subchartaceous, sparsely punctulate lepidote and inconspicuously nerved on both sides when fresh, slightly carinate. flowers: sepals 2.5–3 cm long, to 1.1 cm wide, lance-ovate, broadly acute, membranaceous with hyaline margins, green, prominently nerved, glabrous, equally subfree, the adaxial ones carinate; petals tubular erect, lingulate, apex only slightly curved outward, 5–5.8 cm long, to 0.9 cm wide, violet (#46 amethyst after the color index of graf in exotica), base half white. stamens and pistil exserted; filament in two series of unequal length, to 6 cm long, the apical third 1 mm wide, ovate in cross-section, green (#80 nile green), white, thin toward base.anthers 3 mm long, elliptical, filaments attached dorsally below the middle, blackish brown, pollen egg-yellow. pistil: style to 6 cm long excluding the ovary, whitish green, 5 mm violet below the stigma; stigma violet, the small lobes erect, papillose; ovary 5–7 mm high, 3 mm wide, conical, green.Edited from : Ehlers 1991d. (protologue) A new Tillandsia Species: Tillandsia sueae .